ABSTRACT

Poultry production is an integral part of agriculture and of the U.S. economy, accounting for millions of eggs and chicken products consumed annually. Most ubiquitous to the poultry industry from farm production to research are broiler and layer poultry operations, with pullet operations at the forefront. Although essential to the cycles of production, there is a dearth of evidence regarding the occupational exposure risks of pullet production. The aim of this case study was to measure total dust and ammonia levels during the growth cycle of pullets. Ammonia and total dust concentrations were measured as single day measurements at three different points of time during the 16.5-week growth cycle of pullet flocks using two fixed sampling stations configured to represent the breathing zone height of poultry workers. As birds grew from chicks to hens, concentrations of total dust and ammonia increased. Notably, from 3 weeks-of-age to 9 weeks-of-age concentrations of total dust increased from 1.1–1.2 mg/m³ to 16.0–18.0 mg/m³; and from 9 weeks-of-age to 15 weeks-of-age, dust concentrations reached 43.0–50.0 mg/m³. Concentrations of ammonia also increased from 9 weeks to 15 weeks from 1.1–2.7 ppm to 22.0–30.0 ppm. Both levels of ammonia and total dust reached levels that have the potential to induce adverse health effects among farmers raising pullets.

摘要

家禽生产是农业和美国经济不可分割的一部分，每年消耗数以百万计的鸡蛋和鸡肉产品。从农场生产到研究，家禽业最普遍的是肉鸡和蛋鸡养殖，其中小母鸡养殖处于最前沿。尽管对生产周期至关重要，但缺乏关于后备母鸡生产职业暴露风险的证据。本案例研究的目的是测量小母鸡生长周期中的总灰尘和氨水平。在后备鸡群的 16.5 周生长周期中，使用两个固定采样站，在三个不同时间点测量氨和总粉尘浓度作为单日测量值，这些采样站配置为代表家禽工人的呼吸区高度。当鸟儿从小鸡成长为母鸡时，总粉尘和氨的浓度增加。值得注意的是，从 3 周龄到 9 周龄，总粉尘浓度从 1.1-1.2 mg/m³至 16.0–18.0 mg/m ³；从9周龄到15周龄，粉尘浓度达到43.0-50.0 mg/m ³。氨浓度也从 9 周增加到 15 周，从 1.1-2.7 ppm 增加到 22.0-30.0 ppm。氨和总粉尘水平都达到了可能对饲养小母鸡的农民造成不利健康影响的水平。